[00:00:01]
COMMISSION CALENDAR AND SEND IT THAT WAY.YES, IT'S THE EXISTING CALENDAR.
AND ONCE THEY HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT'S GOING ON, UM, WITH OTHER CONVENTIONS AND WITH COUNCIL AND WE WORK TO FIT IN A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME.
AND, OH, BY THE WAY, FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, I AGAIN, HAVE TO APOLOGIZE.
I SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE THAT TERRIBLE TELEMARKETER WHO CALLS AND ASK IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ATTENDING OR, OR BEING A PART OF, UH, THE GATHERING.
AND, UH, NONETHELESS, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
YOU'RE KEEPING US WORKING ON THIS.
I KNOW IT WAS PROBABLY NOT FUN, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU DO THAT.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT IS CORRECT.
B AS IN THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PASSED DOWN FROM THE LAST PERSON IN ONE IS ALMOST TO BE ABLE TO, IT JUST NEEDS TO BE OR INSISTED, AND I BELIEVE THAT'S, UM, COMMISSIONER BOOKOUT, ACTUALLY, THAT WOULD A, YES.
THAT WOULD STILL GIVE US OR LEAVE US WITH TWO VACANCIES.
THERE'S A USER THAT CALLED IN.
HI, THIS IS, THIS IS COMMISSIONER WITH SPEEDO.
I'VE BEEN HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
[CALL TO ORDER]
SO WE DO HAVE A QUORUM NOW.I APOLOGIZE FOR THIS, BUT UH, HAVING, HAVING, UH, DETERMINED THAT WE DO HAVE A CORM, UH, LET'S SEE, UH, THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS HERE.
WE'RE JUST, IT'S A VERY SHORT, UH, AGENDA HERE.
VERY, VERY SHORT IN FACT, JUST A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION BY THE, UH, SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE.
BUT, UH, IF WE WANT TO LOOK AT THE
[1. APPROVAL OF July 17, 2020, Special Meeting Minutes]
ITEM ONE, WHICH IS LITERALLY JUST THE APPROVAL OF THE JULY 17TH MEETING MINUTES, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION OR, UH, OPEN UP DISCUSSION ON THAT COMMISSIONER WHITE MOVES APPROVAL.DO I HEAR A SECOND? I'LL SECOND, SECOND HEARING.
SAY YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES.
[2A. Discussion and Action: Office of Sustainability Community Climate Plan 2020 Revision by Zack Baumer]
ALRIGHT.THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS LITERALLY THE PRESENTATION BY THE OFFICES OF SUSTAINABILITY ON THE COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN FOR 2020.
AND I THINK, UH, ZACK BOMBER WAS SCHEDULED TO LEAD THAT PRESENTATION.
DO YOU ALL HAVE A, HAVE A VERSION OF THE PRESENTATION TO SHARE WITH, I HAVE A PRETTY HOT PROJECTS THAT US TO TELL THIS IS WHAT I HAVE.
WELL, WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR IT TO COME UP, CAN, CAN FOLKS HEAR ME? YES.
WELL, IT'S STILL, IT'S STILL LOADING ON MINE.
SO, UH, SO I'M ZACK BOMBER CLIMATE PROGRAM MANAGER HERE WITH OPPOSITE SUSTAINABILITY.
UM, STAY WITH ME CELINE RENDANG, WHO WAS OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST.
SHE'S GOING TO GET PART OF THE PRESENTATION ALONG WITH ME, UM, AND THANK YOU TO, UM,
[00:05:01]
TO LISA AND TO, AND TO AWESOME RESEARCH RECOVERY STAFF WHO HAVE HELPED US IN THE CREATION OF, OF THE GRAFT OF THIS PLAN.UM, SO WE'RE GOING TO SORTA STEP THROUGH THIS WHOLE PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GO PRETTY QUICKLY, UM, CAUSE WE CAN, I COULD TALK FOR HOURS ABOUT THIS.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING TO NOTE IS THAT THE FIRST FULL DRAFT THAT WILL BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC REVIEW IS NOT GOING TO BE RELEASED FOR LIKE ANOTHER SEVEN TO 10 DAYS.
SO WE HAVE NOT INCLUDED ALL OF THE VERY SPECIFIC, UM, LIKE SPECIFIC STRATEGY ACTION LEVEL INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.
SO I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT HOW YOU BEEN, DID YOU PREPARE SOMETHING LIKE FOR THE GROUP? YEAH, I DID SEND AROUND, UM, THE, YEAH, BASICALLY THE, UM, GOALS AND STRATEGIES THAT FALL UNDER FOOD AND CONSUMPTION, BUT I DIDN'T INCLUDE ALL THE FOOD ONES.
CAUSE SOME OF THEM DIDN'T REALLY SEEM LIKE THEY WERE NECESSARILY RELEVANT TO US, BUT ALL THE ONES THAT SEEMED LIKE THEY MIGHT BE RELEVANT AS WELL, I DID SEND AROUND.
SO, SO IN TERMS OF LIKE REVIEWING ALL THE SPECIFICS AND LIKE FOLLOWING UP WITH SOME KIND OF SUPPORT, LIKE YOU, YOU PROBABLY WANT TO DO THAT, LIKE AFTER YOU GUYS HAVE REVIEWED THE FULL DRAFT, WHICH WE'D LIKE PROBABLY BE AT THE NEXT MEETING.
SO, UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE GOING ON THIS TOUR OF PRESENTING TO LIKE 20 SOME BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UM, MY OFFICE AND MOST OF OUR WORK RELATED TO THE CLIMATE PLAN, YOU REPORT TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, WHICH HAS MEMBERS FROM LIKE 13 DIFFERENT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO PRESENTING TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS BECAUSE OF THE FOCUS ON EQUITY WITH THIS PLAN.
SO, UM, SO I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND DIVE INTO THE PRESENTATION AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE.
SO, SO THANKS FOR HAVING US ON YOUR AGENDA TODAY.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF THE FIRST AUSTIN COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN 2015.
AND WE HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DOING A FIVE YEAR FULL UPDATE AND REVISION TO THAT PLAN.
SO, UM, STARTING 20 IT'S TIME TO REVISE THE WHOLE THING.
SO, UM, THE VERY LIKE FIRST DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE OUT NOW, LIKE I SAID, THE FIRST FULL, UM, FULL DOCUMENT, WHAT WE WERE WITHIN THE NEXT SEVEN TO 10 DAYS.
AND THEN WE'RE AIMING FOR A COUNCIL DATE IN OCTOBER FOR ADOPTION.
SO WE'RE JUST INTERESTED IN YOUR FEEDBACK AND AREAS OF AND ALL THAT.
SO WE STARTED THIS PLANNING EFFORT WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH DIRECTION FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE LAST SUMMER AND, YOU KNOW, THEY GAVE US A LOT OF DIRECTION TO, TO REALLY FOCUS ON EQUITY, TO BE CENTERED IN, UM, CENTERED IN THIS REVISION OF THIS PLAN.
AND WE ALSO WERE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, WITH EQUITY OFFICE ABOUT HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, AND NO ONE COULD'VE ANTICIPATED THAT LIKE MIDWAY THROUGH THE CREATION OF THIS PLANNING EFFORT WITH HUNDREDS OF STAKEHOLDERS AT THE TABLE, UM, THAT THE PANDEMIC WOULD COME ECONOMIC DEVASTATION AND LIKE JOBS ISSUES, THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE ENDEMIC WERE JUST LIKE, UM, OVERWHELMING.
AND THEN YOU SORT OF STACK ON TOP OF THAT, LIKE, UM, TOWARDS FLOYD AND THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT THAT'S BEEN, UM, GROWING AND GROWING AND, AND THEN YOU STACK ON TOP OF THAT CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY STILL HAPPENING.
WE'RE HAVING EXTREME WEATHER RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN OUR SECOND HEAT WAVE IN YEARS, FINDING CHANGES ALREADY HAPPENING IN BREASTS.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS, IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGING TIME TO CREATE THIS PLAN AND IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGING TIME TO SWITCH FROM DOING ALL THIS WORK IN PERSON WITH HUNDREDS OF STAKEHOLDERS SWITCHING OVER TO THIS WEB FORMAT.
AND YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE GENERAL CONSENSUS IS THAT ACTION AND NOW IS THE TIME FOR BOLD ACTION RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE, ESPECIALLY IN CONNECTION.
THERE'S A LOT OF FOCUS ON IN THIS PLANNING EFFORT TO FOCUS ON JOBS AND JOB TRAINING, HEALTH, SAFETY, COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, AND A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT.
SO, UM, WE REALLY FEEL LIKE THIS IS NOT SOME EXTRA CLIMATE ACTION THAT THIS IS LIKE REALLY HAS A TRULY SORT OF LIKE INTEGRATED PLACE IN ADDRESSING MANY OF EACH REAL AND PRESENT ISSUES, WHICH ARE AFFECTING ALL NEXT SLIDE.
[00:10:01]
WAS THIS PLAYING, CREATING? UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, WHEN WE CREATED THE FIRST CLIMATE PLAN FIVE YEARS AGO, WE HAD ABOUT 50 STAKEHOLDERS THAT WERE PARTICIPATING OVER THE COURSE OF ABOUT SIX MONTHS.UM, THIS TIME WE'VE GOTTEN BIGGER.
UM, SO THERE HAVE BEEN ABOUT 20 CITY STAFF PARTICIPATING ACROSS MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, OVER 120 COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE DONATED THEIR TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN A STEERING COMMITTEE AND FIVE ADVISOR GROUPS, UH, TO CREATE THIS, THIS PLAN.
UH, WE'VE ALSO CREATED A CLIMATE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM THAT AN EQUITY TRAINING FOR EVERY SINGLE PARTICIPANT IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, FIVE COMMUNITY FOCUSED WORKSHOPS THAT WE HAD THAT WERE ACTUALLY IN PERSON IN JANUARY, FEBRUARY BEFORE, AND THEN WHAT CAME, UM, AND EACH ONE OF THESE ADVISORY GROUPS AND STEERING COMMITTEE, UM, HAVE BEEN MEETING EVERY OTHER WEEK SINCE LIKE LAST NOVEMBER, UM, TWO HOURS EVERY OTHER WEEK.
UM, SO THIS HAS BEEN A MASSIVE DONATION OF COMMUNITY TIME AND WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF, OF EFFORT PUT INTO THIS AND, YOU KNOW, AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT LIKE THIS IS REALLY A LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY AND LET THEM GUIDE THE DIRECTION ON THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE USING THEIR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS AND REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS ON LIKE WHAT THEY WANT, UM, AND NOT SORT OF LIKE A TOP DOWN, LIKE THIS IS THE CLIMATE PLAN FOR EFFORT.
HERE'S THE STEERING COMMITTEE, UH, STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, AS I SAID, THERE'S, THERE'S A STEERING COMMITTEE AND THERE'S FIVE ADVISOR GROUPS, ONE OF THE ADVISORY GROUPS, WHICH IS MOST PERTINENT TO THIS, UM, THIS COMMISSION IS THE FOOD AND, UH, FOOD AND GOODS CONSUMPTION GROUP.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, THESE STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE REALLY PUT IN A TON OF EFFORT INTO LIKE HE, MY BOARD OF, AND SORT OF LIKE BEING MY ACCOUNTABILITY, UM, AND THE CITY'S ACCOUNTABILITY, UM, FOR THE CREATION OF THIS PLAN TO DO IT RIGHT, TO FOCUS ON EQUITY, UM, TO LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE ISSUES, BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS, UM, AND REALLY MAKE SURE THAT LIKE WE WERE CREATING SOMETHING THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN BE A PRODUCT.
SO, SO AS I SAID, THE FIRST COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN, ACTUALLY THE FIRST ACTION ON, UH, ON CLIMATE CHANGE, UH, IT GOES BACK TO 2007.
MAYOR WILL WIN, UM, WORK WITH THE COUNCIL TO PASS THE FIRST CLIMATE DIRECTIVE BACK IN 2007, IN 2014, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THE TARGET OF NET ZERO COMMUNITY-WIDE EMISSIONS BY 2050.
UM, AND THEN 2014 AND 15 TIMEFRAME.
I'D WORKED WITH STAFF FROM TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, AWESOME ENERGY, AWESOME RESEARCH RECOVERY STAFF AT THE TIME, UM, TO CREATE THIS INITIAL COMMUNITY KIND OF PLAN.
SO THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN UNDER IMPLEMENTATION FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
WE DO ANNUAL REPORTING ALSO REINFORCES YOUR RECOVERY WORKS, UM, MOSTLY WITH US TO REPORT ON THEIR ACTIONS AND INITIATIVES, WHICH ARE CONNECTED INTO THIS PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST, YOU KNOW, FIRST TIME AROUND WITH THIS EFFORT THOUGH, UM, MOST OF THIS PLANNING EFFORT WAS REALLY QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE KIND OF ACTIONS THAT WERE DIRECTED AT DEPARTMENTS.
A LOT OF SORT OF LIKE DEPARTMENTS NEED TO DO THIS.
UM, NOT A LOT OF LIKE FULL SORT OF LIKE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN LEVERAGE AND DEFINITELY NOT A FOCUS ON IT.
SO, UM, WE REALLY LOOKED TO LIKE LEARN FROM WHAT WE DID THIS FIRST TIME AND WORM FROM HOW IMPLEMENTATION WENT TO TRY TO CREATE A MUCH BETTER PRODUCT AND PLAN THE SECOND TIME AROUND.
AND IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WELL THAT'S EXCITING COUPLE TIMES.
AND AS WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A LOT IN THIS PRESENTATION, IS THAT REALLY EARLY ON IN THIS, UM, PROCESS WE'RE GIVEN THE DIRECTION THAT WE NEEDED TO CENTER RACIAL EQUITY AT THE HEART OF THIS PROCESS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE TO ASK ME A YEAR AGO, WHAT THAT MEANT AND LIKE WHAT THAT WAS GOING TO MEAN TO THIS PROCESS, LIKE I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN THE ANSWER.
AND SO WE REALLY LIKE GONE ON A JOURNEY WORKING WITH MANY ORGANIZERS, LISTENING RESIDENTS, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH TRAINERS, WORKING WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE.
I MEAN, WE HAVE PUT IN A LOT OF WORK TO REALLY TRY TO LIKE DO THIS AS THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE BEST KNOWLEDGE.
SO, UM, SO WHAT WE'VE KIND OF ENDED UP IS A SPACE WHERE LIKE, UM, WE REALIZED THAT AIMING FOR THE GOAL OF ELIMINATING FOSSIL FUELS FOR ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, TWO TO THREE DECADES AND AS WELL AS TRYING TO ELIMINATE DISPARITIES, THAT CAN BE PREDICTED BY RACE.
UM, BOTH OF THOSE CONDITIONS ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVING CLIMATE CHANGE AND HAVING RACIAL INEQUITIES ARE UNACCEPTABLE.
AND SO, UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE SORT OF COME TO REALIZE THAT THE, THE CORE ROOT CAUSES OF THOSE TWO THINGS ARE ONE OF THE SAME, IT'S SORT OF EXPLOITATION OF THE EARTH EXPLOITATION OF PEOPLE.
[00:15:01]
FIX ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.CAN'T JUST FIX CLIMATE CHANGE, HAVE AN EQUITY STILL HAPPENING.
LIKE IT WON'T, WON'T COMPUTE IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE WHOLE COMMUNITY AT THE TABLE.
UM, SO WHAT WE ENDED UP WITH AFTER GOING THROUGH A TRAINING, UM, OR LIKE A WORKSHOP WITH ALL OUR PLAN PARTICIPANTS WERE THESE VALUES IN THE CENTER AND WE'LL HIGHLIGHT THEM AGAIN.
I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT, BUT THERE'S SORT OF A, THE ANCHORING POINT WHERE LIKE, WHEN WE PROPOSED A GOAL OR PROPOSED A STRATEGY, WE WENT THROUGH AN EQUITY TOOL THAT WE CREATED WITH THE GROUP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ADDRESSING HEALTH AFFORDABILITY, SENSIBILITY, CULTURAL PRESERVATION, COMMUNITY CAPACITY, AND JUST TRANSITION AND ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGHOUT ALL AREAS OF THIS PLANT.
AND SO, UM, IT REALLY HELPED US GET SPECIFIC.
SO WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, SO WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU DOING ABOUT EQUITY? LIKE IT'S ABOUT THESE VALUES.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY CAME TO THE POINT IN THE UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE, EVEN IN 2020 THAT IF WE'RE NOT PROACTIVELY ADDRESSING EQUITY AND TRYING TO DISTINCTLY DESIGN INTENTIONALLY PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, IF WE WILL JUST BE PERPETUATING INJUSTICE AND JUST THE BUSINESS AS USUAL, LIKE ECONOMIC SYSTEM THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, PERPETUATES INJUSTICE.
SO WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY PROACTIVELY WORK TO ADDRESS THAT.
SO I'M NOT GONNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS.
WE KNOW THAT WE'RE CHANGING THE EARTH'S CLIMATE.
UM, HUMANS HAVE BEEN BURNING BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF BILLIONS, OF POUNDS OF COAL OIL AND GAS FOR THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS.
YOU'RE STILL BURNING THAT SORT OF BALANCE.
AND EVEN AT THE HEIGHT LIKE GLOBALLY, THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS THAT HAVE EVER OCCURRED ARE STILL HAPPENING.
UM, GOING A LITTLE BIT OF DOWNTURN WITH THE PANDEMIC, BUT, UH, WE ARE NOT GLOBALLY REDUCING EMISSIONS FAST ENOUGH TO AVOID CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO MORE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN MAKING EFFORTS AND WE'VE BEEN REDUCING EMISSIONS LOCALLY.
UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT MORE WORK TO BE DONE TO DO A ONE OF THE WORST, BUT THAT'S EXCELLENT.
SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THE QUANTITATIVE STUFF, THERE ARE A LOT MORE SLIDES ABOUT THE QUANTITATIVE STUFF LIKE THAT, EFFECTIVE LIGHTENS PRESENTATION.
UM, THIS IS THE, WHAT WE CALL LIKE THE COMMUNITY WIDE GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY.
THIS INVENTORY IS GEOGRAPHIC BASE AND THERE'S DIRECT EMISSIONS.
SO IT'S BASED ON THE BOUNDARY OF CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AND THEN IT'S BASED ON DIRECT EMISSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVITIES IN THAT BOUNDARY.
SO ENERGY AND BUILDINGS IS ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL USING THE BUILDINGS.
UM, TRANSPORTATION IS ALL THE TRANSPORTATION FOR MOVING EVERYTHING AROUND.
UM, AND THEN INDUSTRIAL EMISSIONS ARE EMISSIONS FROM SEMICONDUCTOR FACILITIES.
REFRIGERANTS ARE LEAKAGE IN VENTING OF REFRIGERANT CHEMICALS THAT ARE USING ONLY POOLING EQUIPMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN WASTE IS A TINY SECTION AT THE BOTTOM IN THIS ACCOUNTING METHODOLOGY WASTE IS ONLY SORT OF CAPTURED AS, UM, EMISSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH LANDFILLS AND, YOU KNOW, INTEGRAL LANDFILL IS ACTUALLY CAPTURING THE GAS AND DESTROYING THE GAS LIKE ELECTRICITY, LIKE A GENERATOR.
UH, THE EMISSIONS ACTUALLY ARE PRETTY SMALL ASSOCIATED, RIGHT? SO YOU CAN SEE US THAT SMALL PORTION AT THE BOTTOM.
WE HAVE GONE THROUGH A LOT OF EFFORT AND ACTUALLY LIKE WHY THIS PLANT SECTION I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT LATER, IT'S CALLED FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION IS THAT WE'VE TAKEN OUR FIRST FORAY INTO WHAT'S CALLED CONSUMPTION-BASED GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY, WHERE WE LOOK AT TOTAL ECONOMIC FLOWS IN AND OUT OF AN AREA AND THEN USE LCA LIFECYCLE ANALYSIS TO APPLY WHAT ARE LIKE THE FULL IMPACT OF ALL OF THE FULL, LIKE ECONOMIC FLOWS OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S NOT LIKE FORMALIZED AND NOT FINALIZED AND SORT OF, NOT PART OF THIS, BUT, BUT THAT GENERAL CONCEPT OF LIKE, HOW DO WE CAPTURE THE COMPUTER IN THE IPHONE AND LIKE THE BREAD AND THE TOMATOES AND LIKE EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE ALL BUYING USING EVERYDAY, HOW DO WE CAPTURE THAT UPSTREAM IMPACT AND THEN TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE THAT IMPACT OVER THE LIFE CYCLE.
SO, UM, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK ON THAT AND WE'RE GONNA BE CONTINUING TO BUILD ON THAT WORK AS WELL.
THE OTHER THING TO NOTE ON THIS, UM, YOU CAN SEE THE EMISSIONS, UH, THE FULL COLOR CHRISTIANS HAVE SLIGHTLY ACTUALLY BEEN COMING DOWN OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY BECAUSE OF ACTIVITIES BY ALSO, THEY'RE GETTING REALLY RENEWABLE ENERGY USING LESS FOSSIL FUEL FOR, UH, FOR POWER GENERATION OUT HERE AS THE TARGET, UH, NET ZERO BY 2050.
UM, AND THE TARGET THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED BY THE STEERING COMMITTEE THAT WILL BE UP
[00:20:01]
TO CITY COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION IS TO REVISE THAT TARGET TO BE NET ZERO BY 24.SO THEY, AFTER LIKE LOOKING AT THE SCIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING THIS WHOLE SITUATION, THEY ARE ADVOCATING THAT WE REACH, THEY TRY TO REACH THIS START AT 10 YEARS EARLIER AND WITH A MUCH DEEPER REDUCTION CURVE.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY BECAUSE LIKE EMERGENCY AND FIND A CHANGE, BUT ALSO LIKE THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT A CITY LIKE AUSTIN IS HIGH, VERY HIGH INCOME AS WE'RE COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE WORLD.
SO WE SHOULD HAVE MORE ABILITY TO ACT IN OUR EMISSIONS ACTUALLY, PER PERSON ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD, UM, WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LIKE COMPARE THEM TO OTHER PLACES.
SO THERE'S SORT OF ADVOCATING FOR MUCH MORE AGGRESSION, LIKE MORE ACTIONS.
SO EVERYTHING IN THIS PLAN IS SORT OF SET UP AROUND HOW DO WE BRING THOSE EMISSIONS DOWN? SO WE CREATED A FULL LIKE WEB INTERFACE, UM, CALCULATOR AND, UM, DASHBOARD WHERE WE CAN LIKE INTERACTIVELY LIKE CHANGE DIFFERENT, UM, STRATEGIES AND GOALS AND SEE HOW THEY ACTUALLY AFFECT THOSE NUMBERS.
SO ANYBODY'S INTERESTED IN LIKE ALL THE SPECIFICS ON THE NETWORK.
SO WHAT DO WE FOCUS ON? LIKE, WHAT IS REALLY IN, WHAT DO WE WORK ON IN THESE GOALS AND STRATEGIES? SO THESE FIVE PLAN SECTIONS ARE WHAT WE HAD AN ADVISORY GROUP CREATED TO FOCUS ON FOR EACH ONE OF THESE.
SO EACH ONE OF THESE ADVISORY GROUPS WAS THREE, FOUR, FIVE CITY STAFF, PLUS 10, 15, 20 COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO HAD KNOWLEDGE OR INTEREST IN THESE AREAS.
SO WE FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRIFICATION, TRANSPORTATION, AND LAND USE, WHICH IS ABOUT IN A LOT OF CARS, UM, AND THEN NATURAL SYSTEMS AND THEN FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION.
UM, AND THE TRICKY THING WITH THIS PLAN IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER PLANNING EFFORTS THAT ARE ONGOING, THAT WERE JUST ADOPTED.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY ZERO WASTE MASTER PLAN IS IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW, AUSTIN ENERGY JUST ADOPTED THEIR RESOURCE IN GENERATION PLANNING EARLIER THIS SPRING.
THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING.
AND SO WE HAD TO, YOU KNOW, TRY TO FIT OUR PLANNING EFFORT WITHIN THESE OTHER PLANNING EFFORTS AND SORT OF MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T OVERSTEPPING INTO OTHER BOUNDS AND LIKE NOT TRYING TO DICTATE, YOU KNOW, RECYCLING POLICY OR RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY OR ANY OTHER POLICY THAT WAS SORT OF LIKE OUTSIDE OF OUR SWEET SPOT.
SO WITH THIS, WE TRIED TO CREATE FOCUS AREAS THAT FIT WITHIN OTHER PLANNING EFFORTS.
SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE ENDED UP WITH BEFORE WE HAVE.
SO SALLY'S GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, OUR EQUITY TOOL ON PROCESSING, REALLY LIKE HOW WE OPERATIONALIZE THAT.
HI EVERYONE, I'M CELINE RENDON.
UM, AND I'VE BEEN A COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST SINCE THE SEPTEMBER, 2019.
UM, THIS WAS THE EQUITY PROCESS THAT WE CREATED, UM, FOR OUR ADVISORY GROUPS, AS THEY DEVELOPED GOALS AND STRATEGIES.
THIS WAS ADAPTED FROM THE MODEL, UM, FROM THE GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE ON RACE AND EQUITY GARE, WHICH IS WHAT THE EQUITY OFFICE USES AS THEIR EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL.
SO WE KIND OF HAD A, HAVE A OUTLINED PROCESS FOR ADVISORY GROUPS.
LIKE ZACH MENTIONED, WE HAD A CLIMATE EQUITY WORKSHOP THAT WAS REQUIRED FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2019.
UM, THAT WAS FACILITATED BY A COMMUNITY MEMBER ORGANIZER, DR.
AND LIKE ZACH SAID, THAT WAS KIND OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN AND UNDERSTANDING OUR HISTORY, UM, LEGACIES OF RACIAL PLANNING THAT HAVE CAUSED THE, OF MAJOR INEQUITIES THAT WE SEE TODAY.
ALL ADVISORY GROUPS ALSO LOOKED AT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA RELEVANT FOR THEIR ADVISORY GROUP TOPIC TO ENSURE THAT THEIR GOALS AND STRATEGIES INCLUDED IN EQUITY AND CLIMATE COMPONENT.
AND SO THIS HELPED THEM TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES WITH EQUITY AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN MIND.
SO THE EQUITY TOOLS ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH WE CAN GO TO AND THE EQUITY TOOL THAT WE HAVE WAS CO-CREATED WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT SERVED ON OUR STEERING COMMITTEE.
AND THAT'S WHAT KIND OF LED TO THE SEVEN THEMES THAT WE HAVE HIGHLIGHTED HERE.
I'M ENSURING THAT OUR STRATEGIES MUST PRIORITIZE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
AND THE TOOL IS KIND OF DESIGNED AS A SET OF SCREENING QUESTIONS.
THERE'S A UNDER EACH THEME, YOU'LL SEE LIKE A WHOLE SET OF QUESTIONS RELEVANT TO THAT THEME.
AND SO THE ADVISORY GROUPS RAN THEIR GOALS AND STRATEGIES THROUGH THAT, AND IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL TO FIND GAPS OR AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE GOLDEN STRATEGIES MORE EQUITABLE AND TO CONSIDER MAJOR BARRIERS.
UM, AND WE CAN FOLLOW UP SHARING THE WEBINARS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE FOR OUR EQUITY TOOL.
UM, AND ALSO THE SLIDE DECK THAT KIND OF GOES THROUGH ALL THE SCREENING QUESTIONS AS WELL, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
[00:25:04]
ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY CLIMATE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.THIS WAS, UM, INITIALLY CREATED THE CONCEPT FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AND 12 COMMUNITY MEMBERS WERE COMPENSATED TO FACILITATE THEIR OWN CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, WE HAD A WHOLE PROCESS FOR THE APPLICATION SET UP, UM, WHICH WAS REVIEWED BY MYSELF AND WORKING WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE, SUSANA ALMANZA FROM POOL.
THERE WAS ALSO, UM, SHE OFFERED HERSELF AS A MENTOR AND ALSO HELPED CREATE, UM, THE PROGRAM DESIGN ITSELF.
AND WE CALLED IT A PILOT PROGRAM BECAUSE THIS IS KIND OF THE FIRST OF ITS KIND, UM, WHERE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE DIRECTLY COMPENSATED, UM, AND TO, UM, COMPLETE THE TASKS THAT THEY WERE ASSIGNED FOR ENGAGEMENT.
SO IT WAS A REALLY GREAT COHORT OF FOLKS.
UM, THEY TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF ISSUES AROUND LANGUAGE ACCESS, UM, DISABILITIES AGE, AND, UM, OTHER LIKE CULTURALLY RELEVANT FOR THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY'RE INVOLVED WITH.
AND WE'RE HOPING AT THE END OF THIS MONTH OR THE EARLY SEPTEMBER THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A WEBINAR AND PANEL TO SHOWCASE THE AMBASSADORS AND THE WORK THAT THEY COMPLETED.
UM, AND A LOT OF OTHER OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS MODEL OF ENGAGEMENT.
UM, SO WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE OUR LESSONS LEARNED AND OUR REFLECTIONS, UM, AS WE PARTNER, HOPEFULLY PARTNER, UH, LOOKING AT THE IMPLEMENTATION STAGE OF THE COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN.
AND YEAH, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY, LIKE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS FOR OUR ENGAGEMENT COMPONENT.
WE HAVE A LOT OF THE INFORMATION DOCUMENTED DATA DOCUMENTED, EVERYTHING THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED.
SO I, I WILL BE HAPPY TO, I FIND THAT INFORMATION AS A FOLLOWUP, ZACH AND CELINE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH COMMISSIONERS.
ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAD SUBMITTED? I GUESS YOU'RE A FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION GOALS AND STRATEGIES.
AND I GUESS MY QUESTION IS ZAC SALINE HAS A COMMISSION.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO KEEP THIS PROCESS MOVING FORWARD? YEAH, I'M GOING TO THINK IN THE SHORT TERM, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE WILL BE EATING AND ADOPTING A RESOLUTION, I THINK, IN OF THE PLAN AND LIKE TELLING COUNCIL THAT THEY SUPPORT IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK FROM THIS COMMISSION'S PERSPECTIVE, LIKE OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, AND WHEN WE HAVE THIS PUBLIC DOCUMENT OUT THERE, LIKE ANY IDEAS, LIKE COMMENTS, LIKE ANYTHING THAT YOU ALL THINK ABOUT THE FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION SECTION, AND THERE'S ANOTHER PIECE IN THE, IN THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SECTION, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT EMBODIED CARBON IN BUILDING MATERIALS? UM, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER PLACE WHERE YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE, YOU KNOW, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE NEXT THING WILL JUST BE LIKE, THINKING BEYOND THE ADOPTION OF THE PLAN, HOW DO WE STAY ENGAGED AND HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THIS TIME AROUND, WE'RE TRYING TO DESIGN A MUCH MORE ROBUST IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING PROCESS, OR WE'RE GONNA LIKE NEED A FRESH GROUP OF LIKE EYES AND INTEREST AND LIKE STAKEHOLDERS HELP US LIKE DESIGN OUT SOME OF THE DETAILED PLANS ON THESE THINGS.
SO, UM, THINKING ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, IF ANYONE FROM THE COMMISSION AND WORK, YOU HAVE IDEAS OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO COULD SUPPORT THAT IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING.
SORRY, CAN I, I'M SORRY, YOU'RE ON MUTE.
I WILL DEFINITELY, UH, PLAN BRING THAT RESOLUTION.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO GET ZACH SUGGESTED.
AND, UM, IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO TAKE JUST A LITTLE TIME NOW TO REVIEW, UH, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST WHERE THE DRAFT STANDS RIGHT NOW, IN TERMS OF THOSE ITEMS THAT ARE MOST RELEVANT TO US, UM, YOU KNOW, I CAN GO THROUGH A FEW OF THOSE.
UM, BUT AS YOU ALL WANT TO PROCEED, YOU KNOW, I WAS HOPING THAT, UH, PERHAPS STAFF COULD GATHER THEIR THOUGHTS ON HOW WE CAN BE PRODUCTIVE IN THIS AND, AND PRESENT THAT, UH, AT OUR NEXT, UH, GATHERING.
[00:30:02]
KEEP PUSHING THIS FORWARD? AND, UH, WHAT GOALS DO WE SEE STAFF AND OR AR ARE PURSUING THAT JERRY, THIS IS CAN APOLOGIZE FOR ALARM ACTIVATED.UM, I CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
I THINK THE MAIN THING FOR US TO CONTINUE TO DO IS TO WORK, TO ALIGN OUR WORK WITH THE PLAN SO THAT WE BOTH SUPPORT IN LINE IN A WAY THAT IS CONSTRUCTIVE.
UM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
IF WE CAN DO A FEW QUESTIONS NOW, AMANDA, GO AHEAD PLEASE.
SO ESPECIALLY WHILE I'M ZACH AND SALINE ARE HERE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND IT'S BEEN GREAT SEEING THIS PROCESS, NOT HERE, BUT AS IT'S, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING YOUR WORK AS IT'S BEEN DEVELOPING, I'M ESPECIALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE FACT THAT YOU PRIORITIZE EQUITY IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THESE GOALS.
UH, THAT, THAT SEEMED JUST VERY WELL DONE, VERY DELIBERATE, UM, YOU KNOW, EXCITED TO SEE THE CLIMATE AMBASSADORS IMPACT AND HOW THAT SHAPED THING, UH, THAT BEING SAID.
I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED THAT MORE OF THE GOALS DID NOT REALLY HAVE EQUITY EXPLICITLY IDENTIFIED AS AN OUTCOME.
UM, THERE ARE FEW, YOU KNOW, I NOTED THAT THE, THE, UH, FOOD, THE FOOD WASTE AND FOOD SYSTEM RELATED GOAL, YOU MENTIONED EXPLICITLY THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON THE STUDENTS SECURE, BUT MANY OF THE OTHERS DON'T NECESSARILY AT LEAST IN THIS LANGUAGE TALK ABOUT EQUITY.
SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD ADDRESS, IS IT THERE? AND I'M JUST NOT SEEING IT, DID THAT FALL OUT IN THE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, W WHERE DO YOU THINK, UH, EQUITY CAN COME BACK IN, ESPECIALLY FOR THE GOALS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THIS COMMISSION? NO, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IN A LONGER VERSION OF THIS PRESENTATION, YOU SORT OF ADDRESSED THAT.
UM, SO YEAH, AND SOME OF THE QUANTITATIVE GOALS, YES, IT DOES NOT SHOW UP.
IT'S LIKE PROMINENT, PROMINENT THING IN THE, IN THE GOAL, THE WAY THAT IT SHOWS OUT IS IN, IN THE STRATEGIES AND THEN ASSOCIATED WITH EACH ONE OF THE STRATEGIES, WE CREATED THIS ADDITIONAL SECTION THAT SAYS HOW WE'LL GET THERE.
AND SO WHAT WE SORT OF REALIZED IS THAT LIKE, AS WE WENT THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IS THAT LIKE, THE EQUITY SORT OF KEPT SHOWING UP IN THE IMPLEMENTATION AND IT'S LIKE, IT'S HOW YOU PRIORITIZE THE PROGRAM.
IT'S HOW YOU DESIGN THE OUTREACH.
IT'S, IT'S HOW YOU, UM, IT'S THE, HOW THAT IS LIKE THE, WHERE A LOT OF THE SORT OF LIKE EQUITY FOCUS HAS ENDED UP AND IT'S LIKE, SO REACH A TARGET, BUT HOW YOU SHOULD GET THERE IS FOCUSED ON THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES.
AND THE COMMUNITIES WOULD PROBABLY FIRST AND DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT WORKS FOR THEM, AND THEN SORT OF LIKE LEVERAGE OTHER WORK THAT WOULD END UP SORT OF LIKE HELPING REACH AN OVERALL TARGET SO THAT LIKE WHEN YOU SEE THE FULL STRATEGIES AND THE FULL, HOW WE'LL GET THERE, YOU'LL SEE IT A LOT MORE.
UM, BUT A LOT OF IT IS JUST LIKE ABOUT PRIORITIZING INCENTIVES, PRIORITIZING COMMUNICATIONS, CENTERING COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN ONGOING LEARNING AND STUDIES.
THERE'S A LOT OF THAT, UM, PRIORITIZING HEALTH BENEFITS FROM THE EASTERN CRESCENT, UH, FOCUSED ON ADJUST, TRANSITION IN I DISPLACEMENT KIND OF ACTIONS.
LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
IT JUST, IT, IT, A LOT OF IT, ISN'T LIKE A QUANTITATIVE GOAL.
THAT, THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR THAT, THAT DOESN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE AND I CAN UNDERSTAND YES, LIKE IMPLEMENTATION IS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF THIS.
UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.
I WONDER IN A FEW PLACES, IF IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO ALSO HAVE LANGUAGE, YOU KNOW, IN THE GOAL, EVEN IF IT IS A QUANTITATIVE GOAL, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IT IS, WE WANT THE QUANTITATIVE GOAL, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF ONE POPULATION OR OTHERS.
SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I'M, I'M JUST PLAYING AROUND WITH IN MY MIND.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO LOOKING AT MORE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS TO SEE WHERE THAT, UH, EQUITY COMPONENT COMES IN.
AND DEFINITELY LIKE, LOOK AT THE SPECIFICS AND WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO CENTER IT MORE IN LIBERAL.
WE'D BE OPEN TO THAT, TO ANY OF THE QUESTIONS COMMISSIONERS ON ME.
[00:35:01]
I HAD A QUESTION THAT I GUESS IS REALLY, UH, PROBABLY FOR KEN, UM, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE, UH, GOAL THAT, UH, HAS BEEN EDITED TO BASICALLY BE A PLACE HOLDER FOR A CONSUMPTION-BASED GOAL THAT WOULD COME OUT OF, UH, THE MASTER PLAN UPDATE.I GUESS MY COMMENT IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, YOU KNOW, AS ZACH, UH, SPOKE TO THIS PROCESS WAS VERY, UM, COMMUNITY ORIENTED AND INCLUSIVE.
AND SO IT JUST FEELS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, A LITTLE CONTRARY TO THAT FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO SAY, NO, DON'T, DON'T MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATION IN THIS AREA.
UM, BUT I GUESS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MORE SPECIFICALLY, UM, THE CONVERSATION AROUND THAT GOAL WAS, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REMEMBER BEING DISCUSSED WAS THE MERIT OF HAVING SOMETHING THAT WAS LIKE AN ABSOLUTE AMOUNT AS OPPOSED TO A PERCENTAGE REDUCTION.
AND SO CAN YOU MAYBE SPEAK TO BOTH OF THOSE? YEAH, I THINK SO.
I THINK I MISSED A PART OF THE TRANSITION OR THE CONVERSATION TRANSITION.
I'M ACTUALLY SPEAKING FROM A VEHICLE RIGHT NOW, BUT, UM, I THINK THAT THE GOAL IS TO, UM, IS TO NOT, YOU KNOW, UM, TIRE SALES TO A TARGET THAT SEEMS FALSE, THAT WE CAN'T ATTAIN AND, UM, AND, AND TO FOCUS ON THE WORK ITSELF.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO PULL AWAY FROM A GOAL.
I THINK IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION, UM, AND OUR FOCUS IS ON DEVELOPING THE BEST SYSTEM TO HELP US GET THERE.
AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON.
WHAT WAS THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION? UM, I GUESS THE ORIGINAL GOAL WAS BENCHMARKING, UH, AGAINST OTHER, UM, AND ORIGINALLY IT WAS AGAINST US AND SEE 40 CITIES, UM, AND THEN EDITED TO, UM, I THINK JUST BE BENCHMARKED AGAINST CITIES.
UM, I, IN RESPONSE TO A CONCERN FROM SOMEBODY AT ARR, UM, ABOUT DATA COLLECTION FROM INTERNATIONAL, UM, WAS, YOU KNOW, BE IN THE TOP THREE IN TERMS OF DISPOSAL RATES IN POUNDS PER CAPITA, UH, COMPARED TO US CITIES.
AND, UH, NOW IT, IT BOTH HAS JUST A PLACEHOLDER.
IT SAYS IT WILL MEET THE PERCENTAGE REDUCTION TARGET AND THE COMMUNITY WIDE.
THIS WAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED AN ERROR ZERO WITH MASTER PLAN.
UM, SO MY, THE SECOND PART OF MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY HAVE A PERCENTAGE REDUCTION AS OPPOSED TO JUST TRYING TO BE IN, YOU KNOW, IN THE TOP TIER, IN TERMS OF THAT DISPOSAL POUNDS PER CAPITA.
I THINK THAT THE CONCERN I HAD ABOUT THE, UM, COMPARISONS IS, YOU KNOW, THE SYSTEMS ARE SO DIFFERENT ACROSS THE COUNTRY FROM, FROM CITY TO CITY.
AND IT'S HARD TO, TO DO HONEST AND FAIR COMPARISONS.
UM, AND SO WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD? SO FOR EXAMPLE, SAY THE WEST COAST, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS, UM, IN SEATTLE, I HAD THE ABILITY, THE ABILITY TO, UM, TO CHANGE ORDINANCES, TO CREATE ORDINANCES, UM, TO MOVE THE BAR IN THIS SYSTEM.
THAT'S NOT A LEVER THAT IS SO READILY AVAILABLE.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BANDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, WE BAN PLASTIC BAGS AND WE BANNED A NON COMPOSTABLE, UH, FOOT WEAR AND TAKE OUT CONTAINERS.
WE, WE IMPLEMENTED TONS AND TONS OF DIFFERENT BANDS TO PUSH THE BAR.
AND I THINK THOSE THINGS WOULD CERTAINLY HELP HERE, BUT ACTIVELY, I HAVEN'T SEEN THEM AS READILY AVAILABLE.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WANT TO ENGAGE IN IS, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE COMPARING OURSELVES TO A MODEL THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE SAME TOOLS WITH, WE MAY CREATE A, A SENSE THAT WE'RE NOT ACCOMPLISHING OUR GOAL.
WE'RE NOT MOVING THE BAR, BUT WE CERTAINLY WANT TO AND WILL BE, I THINK I'M ONE OF THE TOP TIER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY WITH RESPECT TO, UM, UM, DIVERSION.
AND, UM, AND IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE'LL ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON.
I MEAN, WE'RE HEADING THAT DIRECTION.
IT'S JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO CREATE A FALSE, UM, COMPARABLE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKES IT LOOK AS IF WE'RE NOT MAKING PROGRESS.
I MEAN, I GUESS I UNDERSTAND THAT, LIKE, ESSENTIALLY YOU'RE SAYING THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU THINK IT MIGHT NOT BE REALISTIC TO BE IN THAT TOP TIER BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME
[00:40:01]
POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY OPTIONS HERE IN TEXAS AND, YOU KNOW, A WHOLE ACKNOWLEDGED THE, CERTAINLY THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS, I GUESS, ON THE FLIP SIDE, THIS IS A GOAL FOR 2030.SO I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS MY, MY REQUEST WOULD BE THAT MAYBE YOU AND OR OTHER STAFF ENGAGE IN MORE CONVERSATION ON THIS BECAUSE IT FELT THE OTHER DAY WHEN THIS WAS PRESENTED TO THAT ADVISORY GROUP, THAT IT WASN'T A MATTER THAT WAS OPEN TO CONVERSATION.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, HE WAS JUST VERY CLEARLY LIKE, THIS IS WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO RAISE IT HERE.
I CAN, I CAN EMPATHIZE WITH, UH, WITH, UH, CAN I IS AS A COMMISSION AND AS A CITY, SINCE THE DAY, WE, WE DECIDED TO DRAFT A MASTER PLAN.
WE'VE ALWAYS FACED THAT CHALLENGE OF, UH, PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE THINK ONE WAY AND, UH, THE REST OF THE STATE TENDS TO LEAN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
SO IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR US AND OBVIOUSLY THE PLASTIC BAN ISSUE THAT, THAT AROSE A FEW YEARS AGO.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S TYPICAL NOW, WILL THAT CHANGE AS YOU SUGGEST A COMMISSIONER WHITE? I HOPE SO.
I MEAN, I THINK, UH, THE POLITICAL CLIMATE IS, IS A DYNAMIC, A CREATURE, AND IT'S MOVING AS WE SPEAK.
SO WHO KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR US AND FOR DECISIONS LIKE THIS.
ANYWAY, ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, ZACH SELENE.
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION, VERY INFORMATIVE.
AND DON'T GO TOO FAR NEXT MONTH.
WE'LL PROBABLY BE SCREAMING AT YOU AGAIN.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS STAFF.
THANK YOU FOR GETTING THIS TOGETHER.
LITERALLY, WE ARE AT THE VERY, VERY BOTTOM OF THIS AGENDA AND THAT'S THE BRIEFINGS.
KEN, ARE YOU STILL IN YOUR CAR? I'M ACTUALLY WALKING BACK INTO THE BUILDING.
I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT A STAFF.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR KEN ON THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT? I HEAR NO QUESTIONS BEING ASKED.
AND SO AS YOU'RE WALKING IN WITH NOTHING, IT'S FUN WATCHING ME TRY TO NAVIGATE THIS CAN, SO IT'S QUITE ALL RIGHT.
HOPEFULLY THAT WASN'T A JOKE AND SOMEBODY PULLED THE ALARM ON YOU.
BUT ANYWAY, NONETHELESS GUYS, WE'RE LITERALLY DOWN TO, UH, THE FUTURE
[4. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT]
AGENDA ITEMS AND IT LOOKS LIKE THIS, UH, CLIMATE, UH, COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN UPDATE IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD ALSO KEEP ON THERE.AND I THINK ARR YOU AT A, SUGGESTED A UPDATE ON THE ANNUAL CUSTOMER SURVEY THAT IS BEING DONE AS WE SPEAK AS A FUTURE AGENDA, ITEM, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, ANY OTHER IDEAS? I I'D LOVE TO SEE A, ANOTHER BUDGET UPDATE JUST ON HOW THE BUDGET ACTUALLY TURNED OUT.
WE WERE SUCCESSFUL COMMISSIONERS SAY WE COULD ALL BE AT RUTHERFORD, ANY LOSS, BUT ANYWAY, GUYS, LISTEN HERE.
I, I, I HEAR NO OTHER, UH, AGENDA ITEMS. AND, UH, SINCE WE'RE AT THE VERY END OF THIS, UH, THIS AGENDA, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR GERMANS COMMISSIONER BARGAIN.
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH, GUYS.
[00:45:07]